Category: DLG Collections

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NPR’s Fresh Air book review mentions Georgia Cherokees represented in the DLG

Cherokee Phoenix, February 28, 1828, page 1
Cherokee Phoenix, February 28, 1828, page 1

NPR’s Fresh Air recently aired a book review of The Heathen School: A Story of Hope and Betrayal in the Age of the Early Republic by John Demos.  An excerpt is available here.

The Heathen School was the familiar name of Cornwall, Connecticut’s Foreign Mission School, a nine-year venture that existed between 1817 and 1826, whose purpose was to educate and train non-white Christian missionaries. The book focuses upon the evangelical movement of the 19th century, and American attitudes on interracial relationships as demonstrated in the unfavorable, racially prejudiced reaction of Cornwall townspeople to two marriages: those of Harriet Gold and Elias Boudinot, and Sarah Northrup and John Ridge. Gold and Northrup were local white women; Boudinot and Ridge were Cherokee cousins from Georgia who were students at the Foreign Mission School. Both couples eventually moved to Cherokee Nation lands in the state of Georgia.

Letter, 1833 Sept. 22, Cassville, Georgia, [to] Wilson Lumpkin, Gov[ernor of Georgia] / John Ridge, page 1
Letter, 1833 Sept. 22, Cassville, Georgia, [to] Wilson Lumpkin, Gov[ernor of Georgia] / John Ridge, page 1

Elias Boudinot and John Ridge are represented in numerous materials in Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730-1842, and Boudinot’s work as editor of the Cherokee Phoenix, the first Native American newspaper, can be seen in the Georgia Historic Newspapers collection.

Both Boudinot and Ridge were supporters of the 1835 New Echota Treaty, which required the Cherokee Nation to exchange its national lands east of the Mississippi River and relocate to a territory in present-day Oklahoma.  Their position was extremely unpopular with much of the Cherokee Nation. After having relocated to the new Indian Territory, Ridge and Boudinot were assassinated by a group of men who had opposed removal.

[Copy of New Echota] Treaty [between] the Cherokees [and the] United States, 1835, page 1
[Copy of New Echota] Treaty [between] the Cherokees [and the] United States, 1835, page 1
A copy of  the New Echota Treaty is available in the collection Southeastern Native American Documents, 1730-1842, and a letter from John Ridge to Georgia governor Wilson Lumpkin dated September 22, 1833 notifies the governor of murders committed against pro-removal Cherokees by anti-removal Cherokees.

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GeorgiaInfo Redesign

GeorgiaInfo, the state’s online almanac based at the University of Georgia, launched a redesigned website Jan. 21.

http://georgiainfo.galileo.usg.edu/

GeorgiaInfo’s newly redesigned website

GeorgiaInfo is part of the Digital Library of Georgia, and is hosted by GALILEO and the University of Georgia Libraries. GeorgiaInfo was created in 1996 by the UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government. In 2008 the site became a part of the Digital Library of Georgia and GALILEO, the state’s virtual library.

“GeorgiaInfo is complementary to resources like the award-winning New Georgia Encyclopedia and the millions of primary resources included in our Digital Library of Georgia,” said Merryll Penson, executive director of library services with the University System’s Office of Information and Instructional Technology. Having this information in a new format will be very beneficial to our GALILEO users, particularly those in 8th grade social studies.”

The purpose of the makeover is two-fold:

“The redesigned site contains the information from the previous site, but in an updated, more visually appealing format. It also is designed to work well with the technology available today – GeorgiaInfo should display equally well on desktop computers, laptops, tablets, or phones,” said Sheila McAlister, director of the Digital Library of Georgia.

The new site is highlighted by a revolving photo gallery on the home page; it will feature six rotating images showing the beauty of Georgia. The images will be changed regularly.

Navigation throughout the site is by “topics” and “features” listed on drop-down menus at the top of each page – each of these links will take the reader to a page with information about a specific aspect of Georgia – history, maps, counties, wildlife, etc. There are 15 topics and 12 features, plus pages with basic information about Georgia and recent updates to the site. There is also a search function available on the navigation bar at the top of each page.

The four columns below the photo gallery on the home page will highlight some of the most heavily used or timely topics. These topics will change occasionally, but all of the site information will remain available at all times – through the navigation bar.

“Some of GeorgiaInfo’s most popular features have always been This Day in Georgia History and This Day in Georgia Civil War History. Both of these features – with the same information in a new format – are located at the bottom of the home page, and are also listed under features in the navigation bar,” McAlister said.

 

 

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